Rite Aid makes big push

The diabetes patient has long been identified as a coveted higher-trip, higher- market-basket opportunity for pharmacy operators. And now Rite Aid has created a loyalty card program specifically for that diabetes patient.

As part of a collaboration be­- tween Rite Aid and WebMD, Rite Aid is rolling out the red carpet to diabetics through its Wellness+ loyalty program. Members who participate in the program will gain access to online lifestyle management tools, including a customized Personal Diabetes Work Plan with a daily glucose tracker, recipes and meal-planning tips, as well as monthly lifestyle summary reports.

Rite Aid also signed on with the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, a UnitedHealthcare program designed to provide an all-encompassing, accountability-based, personalized health plan. “In-store pharmacists in select Rite Aid locations will consult quarterly with enrolled patients to evaluate their success adhering to prescribed diabetes regimens and to review patients’ test results for blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol,” John Standley, Rite Aid president and CEO, told analysts in September.

“This support [was available in September] to program participants at select New York City Rite Aid stores in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, and [came] to select stores in Washington, D.C., in mid-October.”

The article above is part of the DSN Category Review Series. For the complete Diabetes Care Buy-In Report, including extensive charts, data and more analysis, click here.

WESTON, Fla. — American Scientific Resources has received a private-label purchase order for a Shoppers Drug Mart VeraTemp noncontact thermometer.

The initial order for 5,000 units will supply VeraTemp to Shoppers Drug Mart’s chain of almost 1,200 Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix stores across Canada.

The private-label version includes the “Life” Brand logo and packaging insert card to identify the VeraTemp under the Shoppers Drug Mart brand.
With the expansion of the VeraTemp thermometer into the Canadian market via Shoppers Drug Mart, the manufacturer anticipates that the new private label will bolster its distribution into additional retail accounts.

The VeraTemp unit is about the size of a remote control and is powered by two included AAA batteries. To measure a person’s body temperature, aim at the individual’s forehead and press the scan button. The VeraTemp measures the forehead and ambient temperature, completes thousands of calculations with a proprietary algorithm and promises to produce an accurate body temperature reading.

Op-ed: CHPA, AMA call on Congress to repeal OTC Rx-only FSA provision

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association last week teamed up with the American Medical Association in a joint op-ed published in Roll Call that called for the repeal of the over-the-counter prescription requirement for flexible spending accounts.

"OTC medications save time and money for the millions of Americans who rely on them to treat many ailments and injuries," wrote CHPA president and CEO Scott Melville and AMA president Peter Carmel. "These medicines play an important role in our nation’s healthcare system, with almost 90% of physicians recommending patients try to address many ailments with self-care interventions, including the use of OTC medication, before seeking professional care."

In the article, Melville and Carmel point to the Restoring Access to Medication Act, which would repeal the prescription requirement, introduced by Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and Ben Nelson, D-Neb.; and Reps. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., and Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

According to an associated cost-savings study, $5.2 billion could be saved by consumers and taxpayers annually if only half of the some 10% of unnecessary visits, as reported by doctors, were avoided.

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